they missed the deadline but just two hours into the new year, the senate voted in favor of a budget deal that now goes to the house and president obama are wants action today. revelers around the globe from rio de janeiro welcome 2013 with a bang with a few peculiar traditions. we say good-bye to the safest air travel ever, and we say hello to over 400 new laws. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for tuesday, january 1st, 2013. good morning, on this first day of january, i'm bill karins.

now it's all up to the house today. they're expected to take up a senate measure approved just hours after midnight and it's halting an enormous tax hike for all but the wealthiest of americans from taking effect. nbc's steve handelsman has all the latest details from capitol hill where it's been a very long night. good morning and happy new year to you, steve. >> reporter: bill, thanks. up here on capitol hill, members of both political parties who badly want these middle class taxes rolled back fast, quote, what the senate did this morning makes it easier for house republicans to follow suit. it was a rare bipartisan senate vote. 89-8. two hours after america went off the fiscal cliff. >> happy new year. >> reporter: vice president biden came to the capitol to sell the fix. he worked out with gop leader mitch mcconnell who spoke for senate republicans. >> we don't think taxes should be going up on anyone.

but we all knew that if we did nothing they would be going up on everyone. >> reporter: the senate voted to reverse are today's tax hikes on 98% of americans. but to keep the higher rate, on families making over $450,000. president obama took credit for breaking 20 years of gop opposition to tax hikes. >> keep in mind, just last month, republicans in congress said they would never agree to raise tax rates on wealthiest republicans. >> reporter: only 5% said no. >> americans will wake up today to be sure that their taxes won't go up $2,200 each. >> reporter: not so fast. house speaker john boehner and his might not go along. boehner sent republicans home to celebrate the new year without the fiscal cliff. >> everybody involved should be embarrassed. >> reporter: the economy could

still take a hit. while the house takes up maybe later today, whether to follow the senate's lead and hike taxes on the wealth. from capitol hill, i'm steve handelsman, nbc news. bill, back to you. >> well, thanks, steve. we have new details today on secretary of sate hillary clinton and the blood clot that has her hospitalized. the clot is located in a vein in a space between the brain and the skull, near her right ear. it did not cause a stroke or neurological damage. doctors say she's making excellent progress. the blood clot is related to a concussion clinton suffered earlier this month. it was discovered during a follow-up exam on sunday. from amazing fireworks displays to ancient traditions in polar plunges folks around the world marked 2013 in their own unique way.

nbc's kirk gregory take ace look. >> reporter: the first major city to sell brit 2013 was auckland, new zealand. in australia, a seven-ton fire work's display dazzled hundreds of thousands in sydney. with an estimated 1 billion watching on tv worldwide. thousands counted down the new year in shanghai, china. while in tokyo, japan, buddhist mornings rang bells. nato soldiers searching in afghanistan, took time to let loose and dance their way into 2013. nato has more than 1,000 soldiers in afghanistan, including 66,000 u.s. forces. in central florida, these brave souls took an icy dip. the water temperature, a brisk 37 degrees. in the united emirates, the world's tallest build, the berj

khalif that. in london, big ben rang out the old and brought in the new. and the tradition continued in the big apple, tens of thousands, crammed into times square to official with welcome 2013. kurt gregory, nbc news. >> how can you top the kiss at the eiffel tower. 400 new laws go in effect. in maryland, same-sex couples have the right to marry. and the wedding ceremonies started just after midnight. california has banned their workers from forcing their workers and job applicants to hand over passwords to facebook and twitter accounts.

>> and lawmakers decided it's not a fair fight. and florida, police can no longer give tickets to drivers who flash their headlights to let fellow motorists know there's a speed trap ahead. i think we've all done that. now for the forecast on the first day of this new year. as you wake up this morning, maybe you're just heading home, we are going to watch some rain in the southeast. overall, it's a quiet start to the new year. kind of how we like it. it was bitterly cold, minneapolis, chicago, temperatures have been falling all through wisconsin. a lot of cold air through many areas of the country. as you go throughout the new year's day, the bitter chill can be the story. look at fargo, the negative 20 range. minneapolis is at minus 10 and chicago falling to 5. a lot of people spending the day indoors to start the new year in the northern plains.

not bad as the temperatures go up and down the east coast. new orleans, mississippi, alabama, tennessee areas even north carolina will have to deal with some of that rain as we go into the afternoon. washington, d.c. may see a shower, but overall looks like a pretty dry day. that's a look at your national forecast. here's a look at weather outside your window. new york city rang in a pretty mild new year's. temperature was at 41. we're watching areas like north carolina and orlando today. north carolina you look like you got some wet weather. well, minimum wage goes up in ten states today. and a pretty decent year for stocks. have you checked? plus, 2012 was the safest year for air travel ever. you're watching "early today" on this first day of january 2013.

what a show it's been all

night long. atop the empire state building. that's brand-new lights up and they've been flashing all night long. times square itself, everyone's gone. about 1 million plus were there for the ball drop. and now new york city sanitation workers, they have their work cut out for them. believe it or not, by sunrise, it will look like new. welcome back to "early today." two people are killed in a new year's shooting in sacramento, california. officials canceled the fireworks show that had been scheduled. the israeli military says that shipments of building materials will be allowed into the gaza strip as long as they're relative quiet. and the first concession of a deal made last month. fell, the food and drug administration has approved the first new tuberculosis drug in more than four decades. it's made by johnson & johnson,

used to treat a harder train of tuberculosis used to treat a strain that has not responded. and an extra day to vote for the oscar nominations. problem with the oscar voting system like for getting passwords might cause low turnout. and fiscal cliff, oh, please, is atop the word to be banished. others on the list of unliked words "double down." i don't mind that one. plus, "spoiler alert," trending and guru." stocks provided many 401(k)s, pension and other investors with other good news. traders get the day off. but among other major markers for the year, the dow was up 7.3%. the nasdaq up a healthy 16%. the s&p 500 has its best finish

in three years soaring over 13%. rt thatting today, the minimum wage goes up between 10 cents to 13 cents an hour having an impact on about a million workers. get ready for groceries to get more expensive this year. haven't they already gotten more. ford claims to have the best-selling car around the globe with the ford focus claiming the top spot. and for what it's worth, a few so-called experts tell our experts at cnbc that apple stocks can grow as much as 20 percent over the next years. as the company planned to celebrate product upgrades. looking back at 2012, there's one milestone that we want to mention, considering the dissatisfaction for air travel, despite the cost and hassle, the fact is 2012 is in the record books as the safest year for air travel ever.

and not just in this country, but around the world. nbc's tom costello reports. >> reporter: the numbers speak volumes. every day, worldwide, there are 93,000 commercial airline flights. 3 billion passengers a year, and yet, not a single fatal commercial airline accident in the u.s. in nearly four years. and worldwide, 2012 is going down as the safest year ever, with just one accident to every 5.4 million flights. safety expert john cox. >> we're improving over 50%. it's an incredible feat. >> reporter: why the improvement? pilots have never been better trained. computerized cockpits monitor every aspect of flights. alert systems warn pilots.

and simulators for air traffic controllers train them to realize an emergency before they face one. >> we have learned from accidents, we've plugged all of those lessons back in. they've been embraced in many cases and we're not seeing repeats of those aim accidents. >> reporter: but experts say two accidents in which human failure was to blame. underscore that the biggest reason for safety. in 2009, killing 228. that same year, colgan air flight 437 crashed in buffalo killing 50. >> colgan air was a watershed event for aviation safety. in particular, bringing the regional carriers up to standards with major carriers. >> reporter: rates are dropping in russia, africa, latin america, the caribbean and asia. despite the improvement in safety, experts say there's a real are danger here. just when you start to think it

can't happen again is very often when you're the most vulnerable. tom costello, nbc news, washington. >> well, thanks, tom. punching a walmart greeter? who does that. and stealing meteorites and other bizarre habits. and bowl fever takes over as many plan to spend the new year watching college football. you're watching "early today."

well, happy new year to everyone. here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. connecticut police arrested a man following a violent rampage at a walmart.

the suspect attached two men. the 50-year-old is on police custody. police arrested one man and hunting another connected to the stealing of 100 unique meteorites. loaned to a north carolina science institute. the fallen stars recovered in the christmas eve heist are worth more than $80,000. it may not have the madness of times square, but the folks in lisbon, pennsylvania, have their own wacky way of ringing in the new year. on new year's eve, the town drops these yellow britches in honor of the yellow britches creek. i get it. it's funny. and finally, organizers in is south carolina put the tip theiring toughs to the incredible mobile flower arrangements that will make up the 124th tournament of roses parade. marching bands and floats are ready to go and you can watch

the entire parade right here on nbc. now to sports. let's get started with college football. good appetite yesterday. clemson down to the kick. time's running out, it's good. clemson upsets number 8 lsu. 25-24. in the sun bowl, georgia tech wins over usc. and the music city bowl, jordan rodgers ran for another score. and the commodores beat north carolina state. to the liberty bowl, three touchdowns beat iowa state 31-17. there are six more games today. starting with the gator bowl. mississippi state against northwestern. then it's purdue versus oklahoma state. and the heart of dallas bowl. and the outback bowl, number 10, south carolina faces number 18, michigan. now to the capital one bowl. number 7 georgia against the

16th ranked cornhuskers. the rose bowl pits withes with. and 15 illinois faces 12th ranked florida state. all of the follow fires. eagles, andy reid. chargers, norv turner. bears, lovie smith. and pat shurmur. romeo crennel, chan gailey and ken whisenhunt. at the annual cars jumping championship in new england, drivers used a ramp to fly over ten cars and land on the other side. but most of the fearless competitors did not make it. just ahead, keeping up with the kardashians is about to get

a ratings bump. while we don't condone throwing food, you've got to see this fruitcake toss. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." we'll take you through your forecast for this new year's day. very cold in the northern plains. temperatures in the teens. coldest day of the winter so far, chicago, and wet weather will arrive in atlanta as we go throughout your day. it's already raining in louisiana and mississippi. and tomorrow, not a bad start for the new year. very cold but no big storms. good news. well, psy rang in the new year with a million plus in times square. the rapper told nbc's jay gray that he may be ready to move on from gangnam style. >> i cannot just, you know, stay here. i've got to move forward. so i'm working on a new thing.

i keep doing this, it can you know, ruin my creative. i'm saying that but i won't never. >> i hope not. my money's probably on a one-hit wonder. for the most shockingly news of the day, if you didn't see this coming, the pregnancy of kim kardashian will be documented by e! with the network saying they're looking forward to the new addition of kim kardashian. and this comes from nebraska. folks have a unique way of getting rid of a holiday treat. the fruit krcake fling was a hu success. i'm bill karins and this is "early today." [ female announcer ] pillsbury crescents on their own are fantastic

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cloudy and cold for the new year. we consider the possibility of some flakes today. good morning everybody. happy new year. i'm aaron gilchrist. i'm erika gonzalez in for eun yang fl welcome to this tuesday, january 1st. we begin with breaking news on capitol hill and a potential deal to prevent this country from going over the fiscal cliff. overnight, the senate passed the measure which will keep taxes in check for about 98% of americans. the bill had strong bipartisan support.

about $24 billion in spending cuts would be delayed for two months so the white house and congress can have more time to debate them. vice president joe biden came to will capitol shortly before midnight to help sell the deal. president obama released a statement shortly after the senate vote. it reads in part "tonight's agreement ensures that going forward we will continue to reduce the deficit through a combination of new spending cuts and new revenues from the wealthiest americans. i will continue to fight every day on behalf of the middle class and those fighting to get into the middle class to forge an economy that grows from the middle out, not from the top down." that vote may not come right